Last Day with Just Two of Us - Bram to Carcassonne

After not getting enough sleep last night, I struggled to wake up this morning.  David wanted to get an early start and we were on the move by 8:20.  It was pretty chilly and I ended up wearing pants, a sweatshirt and then a light blanket wrapped around me!  Despite this, it was just a beautiful morning.  While we had gone through 18 locks yesterday, today only has 6, but I was already pretty sore to start with.  We traveled for an hour or two and then stopped at the very picturesque village of Villesquelande.  This beautiful village had lovely homes, many with beautiful gardens.  One of the interesting things in this place is that one of the oldest trees in France is growing there.  It's very large and beautiful and has two metal poles to keep the large limbs aloft.  Although this was very much a bedroom community, we found a small grocery store where we bought a freshly baked baguette, and wine from right in Villesquelande.

Traveling to Villesquelande (above and below)

Our boat in Villesquelande

Sunflower field as we walked toward Villesquelande

Oldest tree in France with two metal poles holding it up

Town Square with fountain

Somewhere in Villesquelande

After leaving Villesquelande, we continued on until we got to a set of locks.  There were two locks together, then a short distance and then another lock.  We went through the first two with two other boats - one with a small group of Canadians and the other with a South African family  Since all the locks close between 12:30 and 1:30, we were stuck between the second and the third lock.  Fortunately, there was a lovely restaurant right there where we'd been planning to stop!  We had amazing salads and then I had a crepe for dessert. We finished eating just as the locks were reopening and we went right through!  The rest of the afternoon was peaceful as we headed toward Carcassonne.

Our boat is between two locks, on the right, we're the second boat back.

Restaurant between the two locks

Salad!!

Crepe for dessert!!

In Carcassonne, we moored right where we had planned, across from the train station where Barbara and Michael would be arriving that evening!  We pulled in next to a boat filled with Irish and British folks, and next to them were some people from Washington state!  We wandered around Carcassonne for a while, but it being a Sunday, nothing was open.  Barbara and Michael planned to arrive by train.  If all things went perfectly, they'd arrive at 7:30, but more likely at 8:30.  We met both those trains, but they weren't there!  I called and left a message, and fortunately, Barbara called me back minutes later.  Their train was running late and they didn't get in until about 9:00.  Then we had to find a restaurant that was open.  Luckily we did and we had a delicious meal that we gobbled down.

Taken from our boat in the marina.  The train station is on the upper right in the background

Also taken from our boat looking towards the other side of the canal from the train station

Evening in the Carcassonne marina